PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — Malaysia will become a high-income country from 2027 onwards if the national economy grows 4 to 5 per cent every year and the ringgit strengthens to around RM4.20 against the United States dollar, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said.
He said if these targets can be achieved, Malaysia will be seen as a country with potential, which will indirectly allow it to become an “Asian Tiger” again.
“It also depends on our ability to become an international financial hub in addition to the positive performance of Bursa Malaysia,” he told the media after the launch of the Economic Census Finding 2024 by the Statistics Department.
Previously, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan reportedly said Malaysia is making significant progress towards regaining its Asian Tiger status.
This is based on positive outlooks from analysts and rating agencies, supported by encouraging national economic figures.
When asked about the timeline for Malaysia to reach the target, Rafizi said it would be detailed in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Rafizi also said Malaysia’s prospect as an Asian Tiger must be based on the country’s availability in future economic sectors, including in terms of the sustainability of the country’s energy sector and data centre growth.
“To be a ‘Tiger’, we must focus on high-value sectors such as chip creation and design... But if you look at the company census, companies that design chips can still be counted on the fingers.
“That allows us as a government to ensure the policies and programmes for the next five years focus on these sectors, but the development from the private sector does not match the plans of our (then) government,” he said.
Rafizi stressed that the function of the census is important, and that it is a yardstick for the government to formulate targets to be included in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
On the 2023 Economic Census report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said based on the report, the number of establishments in Malaysia increased by 2.5 per cent with a gross output value of RM3.85 trillion in 2022.
A total of 951,862 establishments, or 87.2 per cent, are concentrated in the service sector; followed by the construction sector (71,062 establishments; 6.5 per cent); and the manufacturing sector (54,505 establishments; 5 per cent).
Meanwhile, the agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors both contributed the rest, with 12,998 establishments (contribution: 1.2 per cent) and 1,440 (contribution: 0.1 per cent), respectively.
The value of gross output for the entire economic sector amounts to RM3.85 trillion in 2022, increasing 6.4 per cent every year.
Uzir said the 2023 Economic Census has revealed some important findings that show a dynamic economic transition in seven years.
This is in line with Malaysia’s trade performance which showed strong export growth during this period, with an annual growth rate of 10.4 per cent to RM1.55 trillion in 2022 (2015: RM777.5 billion).
The economic census is held every five years, with the last census in 2015. It could not be done in 2020 due to Covid-19, and was only done in 2023.
— Bernama
